Hindi commonly expresses “because of X” with X के कारण X ke kāraṇ or X की वजह से X kī vajah se. Both introduce a cause as a noun phrase, but their register profiles differ: के कारण is neutral to formal and frequent in reports, explanations, and official prose; की वजह से is neutral and especially common in conversation.
Neither construction has a literal spatial use. They are abstract causal relations. English puts because of first; Hindi places the cause before the compound postposition.
के कारण: neutral and formal cause
के कारण is concise and well suited to factual explanations.
घने कोहरे के कारण कई उड़ानें रद्द हो गईं।
ghane kohre ke kāraṇ kaī uṛāneṃ radd ho gaīṃ.
Several flights were canceled because of dense fog. (formal/news register)
तकनीकी समस्या के कारण वेबसाइट कुछ देर बंद रही।
taknīkī samasyā ke kāraṇ vebsāiṭ kuch der band rahī.
The website was unavailable for a while because of a technical problem. (formal)
उसकी लापरवाही के कारण हमें दोबारा काम करना पड़ा।
uskī lāparvāhī ke kāraṇ hameṃ dobārā kām karnā paṛā.
We had to do the work again because of his carelessness.
The construction itself is neutral about whether the cause is blameworthy. The nouns and context create that evaluation.
की वजह से: everyday explanation
वजह is feminine, so the linker is fixed की; से completes the compound expression.
बारिश की वजह से हम घर पर ही रहे।
bāriś kī vajah se ham ghar par hī rahe.
We stayed home because of the rain.
तुम्हारी वजह से मेरी बस छूट गई।
tumhārī vajah se merī bas chūṭ gaī.
I missed my bus because of you. (informal)
आपकी वजह से काम समय पर पूरा हो गया।
āpkī vajah se kām samay par pūrā ho gayā.
Thanks to you, the work was completed on time. (respectful)
With a person, की वजह से can easily sound accusatory in a negative result, as the second example does. A positive context yields “thanks to,” though की बदौलत more explicitly credits a favorable contribution.
Oblique nouns and pronoun agreement
Changing nouns are oblique before both compound postpositions.
| Cause | के कारण | की वजह से |
|---|---|---|
| लड़का laṛkā | लड़के के कारण laṛke ke kāraṇ | लड़के की वजह से laṛke kī vajah se |
| बच्चे bacce | बच्चों के कारण baccoṃ ke kāraṇ | बच्चों की वजह से baccoṃ kī vajah se |
| हड़ताल haṛtāl | हड़ताल के कारण haṛtāl ke kāraṇ | हड़ताल की वजह से haṛtāl kī vajah se |
Pronouns reveal the different linker agreement: मेरे/हमारे/तुम्हारे/आपके/उसके कारण, but मेरी/हमारी/तुम्हारी/आपकी/उसकी वजह से. कारण patterns masculine; वजह is feminine.
मेरे कारण आपको इंतज़ार करना पड़ा, इसके लिए माफ़ कीजिए।
mere kāraṇ āpko intazār karnā paṛā, iske lie māf kījie.
I'm sorry that you had to wait because of me. (respectful)
उसकी वजह से योजना बदलनी पड़ी।
uskī vajah se yojnā badalnī paṛī.
The plan had to be changed because of him/her.
कारण and वजह as ordinary nouns
Both words can head a noun phrase meaning “reason.” That construction reverses the relation: देरी का कारण means “the cause of the delay,” whereas देरी के कारण means “because of the delay.”
देरी का मुख्य कारण ट्रैफ़िक था।
derī kā mukhya kāraṇ ṭraifik thā.
The main cause of the delay was traffic.
देरी के कारण बैठक छोटी करनी पड़ी।
derī ke kāraṇ baiṭhak choṭī karnī paṛī.
Because of the delay, the meeting had to be shortened.
Likewise, समस्या की वजह is “the reason for the problem,” while समस्या की वजह से is “because of the problem.” The added से is essential to the causal postposition.
Noun phrase versus finite clause
These postpositions take noun phrases. An event can be nominalized with an oblique infinitive or an event noun.
ट्रेन के देर से आने के कारण हम बैठक चूक गए।
ṭren ke der se āne ke kāraṇ ham baiṭhak cūk gae.
Because the train arrived late, we missed the meeting.
An overt subject of the nominalized event normally takes genitive form: the first के in ट्रेन के देर से आने marks ट्रेन as the subject of “arriving late,” while the following के कारण relates that whole event to the result.
For a finite reason clause, use क्योंकि kyoṅki “because”: हम बैठक चूक गए क्योंकि ट्रेन देर से आई. Do not insert के कारण directly before a finite clause. The dedicated reason-clause pattern is distinct from postpositional nominalization.
Cause is not purpose
के कारण/की वजह से look backward to what produced a result. के लिए points forward to an intended beneficiary or goal.
बारिश के कारण मैच रोक दिया गया।
bāriś ke kāraṇ maic rok diyā gayā.
The match was stopped because of the rain.
मैदान सुखाने के लिए मशीनें मँगाई गईं।
maidān sukhāne ke lie maśīneṃ mãgāī gaīṃ.
Machines were brought in to dry the field.
The rain is an existing cause; drying the field is an intended purpose. English for sometimes expresses cause (“fined for speeding”), so translate the semantic relation, not the preposition.
Productive cause versus lexical government
Almost any plausible causal noun phrase can combine productively with these forms. Certain predicates, however, conventionally use simple से: डर से काँपना “tremble with fear,” खुशी से रोना “cry with happiness.” डर के कारण काँपना is grammatical but more analytical and formal; it is not always the natural equivalent of the lexical manner/cause phrase.
बच्चा तेज़ बुख़ार से काँप रहा था।
baccā tez buxār se kā̃p rahā thā.
The child was shivering with a high fever.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English order
❌ के कारण बारिश मैच रुक गया।
Incorrect: the causal noun comes before के कारण.
✅ बारिश के कारण मैच रुक गया।
bāriś ke kāraṇ maic ruk gayā.
The match stopped because of the rain.
2. Leaving a masculine -आ noun direct
❌ उस लड़का के कारण देर हुई।
Incorrect: लड़का becomes oblique लड़के.
✅ उस लड़के के कारण देर हुई।
us laṛke ke kāraṇ der huī.
The delay happened because of that boy.
3. Giving वजह the wrong linker
❌ ट्रैफ़िक के वजह से हम देर से पहुँचे।
Incorrect: वजह is feminine, so use की वजह से.
✅ ट्रैफ़िक की वजह से हम देर से पहुँचे।
ṭraifik kī vajah se ham der se pahũce.
We arrived late because of traffic.
4. Confusing cause with purpose
❌ मैं शोध के कारण दिल्ली आया हूँ।
Incorrect for the intended purpose “to conduct research”: के कारण states a cause, not a goal.
✅ मैं शोध करने के लिए दिल्ली आया हूँ।
maĩ śodh karne ke lie dillī āyā hū̃.
I have come to Delhi to conduct research. (male speaker)
Key Takeaways
- के कारण is neutral-formal; की वजह से is neutral and especially conversational.
- Their complements are oblique; pronouns show मेरे कारण versus मेरी वजह से.
- X का कारण names X's cause, while X के कारण means “because of X.”
- Use क्योंकि for a finite clause and के लिए for purpose.
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- से as instrument and meansA2 — Use से for tools, body parts, transport, communication channels, methods, and selected causes while distinguishing accompaniment and agency.
- के पीछे behind and motiveB1 — Use के पीछे for physical position, following and pursuit, and the underlying motive or force behind an event, with correct oblique complements.
- The oblique in compound postpositional phrasesA2 — Build oblique noun phrases before compound Hindi postpositions such as के साथ, के लिए, के पास, and के बारे में.
- Cause clauses with क्योंकिB1 — Use क्योंकि to give a finite reason for a statement, and distinguish causal clauses from result, purpose, and nominal cause phrases.